Home Safe
by KelinciHutan
Summary: A post-ep for "A Voice In The Dark."


**Spoilers**: "A Voice In The Dark"  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: The characters of _Zombies, Run!_ and all that comes with them are the property of Six To Start and Naomi Alderman. No money has changed hands, and no copyright infringement is intended or implied.  
><strong>Author's Notes<strong>: An episode tag for "A Voice In The Dark." Also, Five has characterization in this. Because that's how I roll.  
>I'm trying on a new perspective, here. I'm going to call it "pure third-person" (I'm sure there's a correct name for this somewhere or other, but I'm too lazy to go find it). No POV character.<p>

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><p>Five had come in <em>late<em>, with a whole horde of zoms on her heels. It had taken about an hour to put the swarm down. Then there was the post-mission protocol. Full strip and and a head-to-toe check for bites. Given that Five had very nearly not come back at all, this examination was particularly cautious, and included cheek swabs and blood samples. Then there was a mission debriefing, and it was just possible that a few ears were still ringing from that. Maxine and Sam squared off against Janine in her kitchen-cum-warroom and berated her for recklessness, attempting to incite a war, risking Five's life, and a thousand other things. Janine had given as good as she'd got, citing low supplies, the growing danger from New Canton, and the crowding at Abel as justifying factors. Sam and Janine had nearly come to blows until Five spoke.

"Janine was right."

Everyone quieted at once, because Five rarely spoke. _Ever_. It wasn't just that she was quiet, it was that she was virtually silent.

One of the men in the camp, Stan Medina, had moved in with her recently. By the looks of him last night as Five's life had been a gigantic question mark, it was very serious. And to hear him tell it, she was actually talkative. Told jokes, even. And when he told her jokes to others, they were even _funny_, despite being very dark. But he said that she'd told him she'd always had a morbid sense of humor, and the zombie apocalypse (still an outrageous phrase to use, even if it was accurate) had only pushed it over the edge.

Whether any of this was true or whether her boyfriend (husband?) was just making it up, however, was a subject of intense debate in some corners of Abel because, to everyone else, she was practically mute. They didn't even know her name. Everyone just called her "Five," and she just answered to it. Even Sarah couldn't get much out of her.

Though, to be fair, Sarah did slightly suspect her of being some kind of a mole.

All of which to say, when Five chose to speak at the debrief, everyone else was so shocked they just shut up.

"We had to try. I don't think she set me up." People often forgot, because she spoke so little, that she was American—or had been, anyway. She hadn't bother to explain to anyone why she'd been in the UK when The Outbreak hit, but it lent an extra weight to her words. The strange inflections making her speech that much more noticeable.

"Of course I didn't _set you up_," Janine hissed.

Five just nodded at her as if to say, _Well, there you go then_.

Janine looked torn between being annoyed and appreciative.

"You really think that, Five?" Maxine said.

Five nodded.

At that, Sam had stormed out, his face a cloud of anger. Five, Janine, and Maxine left the farmhouse a short while later.

The sun had risen at some point during their argument and the three of them made for the cafeteria. Which was exactly where Sam had gone, so now they were all quietly eating their rations trying to pretend like they weren't still on the verge of a full-scale shouting match.

Sam had probably not been paying attention, because he sat at the same table as Five's…man. And she, of course, sat beside him, both of them opposite Sam. She acknowledged Sam with a nod and then turned to her food. Stan didn't even have a plate in front of him. He just put a hand lightly on Five's elbow and didn't take it off. It was hardly an embarrassing display of public affection, but Sam looked away for a moment before going back to his food.

There was a long stretch where they were all quiet and then Five spoke.

"Thank you. For what you said."

Sam looked up at her, shock written across his features. But then he seemed to rally and replied, "I said a lot of things. They weren't all very encouraging."

Five threw him a wry expression, but didn't explain any further. Sam was just about to go back to his food when she spoke again.

"It's not wrong."

Sam looked puzzled.

"To find an upside. To all this. It's not wrong."

His eyes widened, no doubt remembering his confession of occasional happiness to have escaped the cycle of academic futility he'd been in.

"It feels wrong," was all he said out loud.

"Well, it's not." Five went back to eating, apparently done talking.

Sam did too, but much more slowly. Five finished her food, put her plate away, and then appeared to remember something. She turned again. "For what it's worth?"

Sam looked up.

"I'm proud of you."

Stan and Five left the cafeteria, headed for their bunk. And after finishing his breakfast, Sam made for his.


End file.
